Autumns Grace
by Nelarun
Summary: He was a child of the sun, a servant of fire. She was a daughter of the moon, a friend to water. This is the story of the ill-fated love of the children of feuding clans, of blades and deception, of desire and passion, but know this well. This is no love story. AU - Canon Divergence. No Uchiha Massacre. Also posted on A03.
1. I will not disappoint

Autumns Grace

\- I will not disappoint -  
by Nelarun

Naruto belongs to Kisimoto Masashi

* * *

Blues and greens. Colours indicating calm and confidence, new life. It was a new painting in her father's study, a blue wren in the shrubs, one that had toured the library and the dining areas, meditation grotto and reception area. It was her favourite. A slight frown touched her brow when she realised that the sun was about to shift and cast both light and shadow over the silk painting. She would have to make sure it was moved before the sun ruined it. That would be a pity. Her fingers ran over the lilac stained, ivory bound fan in her hand and she traced the dragonfly that had been carved there. "Can you do it?" They were the first words spoken for nearly an hour. Her eyes snapped to her fathers and he saw the calm resolve in them before she bowed to him, her hands pressing daintily against the tatami flooring.

"I will not disappoint, chichiue."

Neji walked into the room as Hinata's maid finished layering her into the kimono, directing her to leave with a tilt of his chin before he picked up the obi and approached his cousin, wrapping it and binding an exquisite and complicated knot before he ran a comb through her hair, expertly pinning it and setting the comb in place as decoration before he lined her eyes. When he was finished she leaned forward, pressing her ear against his chest, allowing his steady heartbeat to still her nerves. "He'll kill me," she whispered. "Of that I have no doubt." Neji frowned. Her target was an ANBU Captain on the second year of his mandatory recovery period. At the end of the year he would begin training for ANBU again, but that didn't mean that he wasn't lethal, nor that he wasn't occasionally doing ANBU missions. "Please watch over Hanabi for me? Care for her as you have me?" her plea jolted him from his thoughts and he sighed.

"You need to ask?"

"No, but I did."

Instantly Neji moved back to kneel. "Hinata-sama, I swear to always watch over, protect and defend Hanabi." He could feel Hinata studying him, testing his worth before with the barest rustle of cloth she left the room.

oOo

Itachi had been watching the Hyuuga interact with the Aburame, Nara and the Akimichi when his father silently ordered him to join the other heirs. Shikamaru nodded politely to him and Itachi lifted an eyebrow. By rank the boys father was equal to the heads of the Noble Four, but his son was not equal to the heirs. The Nara pretended to not notice and Hinata smiled faintly at him in amusement, the two offering equal bows. "Hyuuga-dono."

"Uchiha-dono," her gaze was cool and calculating wondering why he was with the younger heirs when his age-mates were a few groups over. He heard raucous laughter and grimaced internally. Ah, that was why. They were quiet and less likely to startle a bad reaction out of him and extend his time off the field. At Hinata's acceptance of him they shifted and it was like he had always been there. Hinata was a gentle presence at his shoulder, someone he trusted to have his back, someone gentle who was unlikely to do him any harm. As though she was aware that his thoughts were on her, she turned to look at him. "I understand you are coming to the end of your rest cycle. Are you enjoying the regulars?"

Itachi looked down at her and she smiled politely. "I am. And I am."

"As verbose as ever," Shikamaru said and Ino elbowed him.

The group laughed and suddenly Itachi found himself drawn into discussion by the Yamanaka, the rest of the time passed quickly. "...Hinata bakes for her mentors whenever she's stressed."

"Creation is a valid way of dealing with stress," Hinata said gently. "Just because I am a good apprentice who remembers her mentors."

Ino rolled her eyes and Itachi saw Hinata's smile. "If you're lucky, she'll bake for you, sometime, Itachi."

"Unlikely," Hinata said.

"Do it next time Sasuke is being annoying," Ino said and immediately turned to Itachi. "Sasuke has been trying to get some of Hinata's baked goods since he started with the military police."

There was a devilish gleam in her eyes and he couldn't help but be drawn in. "I've heard that you dropped some off to the station."

"Some officers assisted me with work the week before Sasuke returned from Hishin. So I baked them some muffins, nothing special." Hinata said.

"They didn't even check to see if they were poisoned," Chouji pointed out.

"I believe they said something like '_If we die by Hinata's hand, what a way to go._' which is alarming." Ino rolled her eyes and Hinata hid a laugh behind her sleeve and Itachi's eyes were drawn back to her, drinking in her expression, the happy flush to her cheeks, the laugh lines around her eyes. Her mother appeared and Hinata turned away from the group with a small bow and fell into step with her mother, the two speaking softly as they following Hiashi from the room. Itachi's gaze following her every step.

There was a slight smile on his lips and a sharp edge to his gaze. He was going to enjoy this assignment.


	2. Yamato Nadeshiko

Autumns Grace

\- Yamato Nadeshiko -  
by Nelarun

Naruto belongs to Kisimoto Masashi

* * *

Itachi was training when he saw Hinata walk past. She was dressed in a beautiful kimono which, despite drawn from the warm colours of Hi and not the cool colours of her clan, looked resplendent on her. She was being escorted by Nara who was dressed in formal uniform and her maid who held a parasol above her lady. On her other side was a young man, the second son of the Daimyo, the one who would be his brother's voice to the world of the shadows. Itachi had heard that the Daimyo was visiting but hadn't been told more than that. Truthfully he hadn't wanted to know more than that.

When he was ten, he watched as two of his clansmen were forced to fight to the death for the Daimyo's amusement. Mikoto had intervened before deathblows could be delivered and had stared the Daimyo down, not backing down even when Fugaku had arrived. The memory, the rage he had felt at being unable to do anything while two of his cousins fought for nothing more than one mans sport had forced his eyes to mutate, searing the events of that day into his mind forever. A glancing blow wrenched his attention back to his opponent who stopped. "While I'm good, I didn't think I'd actually touch you?" Hinata hid a laugh behind her sleeve, pandering to the whims of the child in her role as a diplomat, a role Itachi highly respected: Diplomats had a tendency to die in the most horrific of ways and Itachi felt irritated at the sound before she looked at him and nodded once.

He approached the road, Shisui falling in behind him and the groups bowed to one another as Hinata introduced the son of the Daimyo with graceful elegant motions. "And you are training?" the young man asked. Itachi stiffened slightly at those words, the same words the man's father had asked of his cousins that day. Shisui smiled disarmingly when Nara shifted, looking mildly apprehensive at the thought of having to prevent the Uchiha Itachi from harming the Daimyo's son.

"We were, your grace. I was injured on a mission recently and my cousin agreed to help with my physical therapy through light sparring." His smile turned fond. "Itachi is one of the best in the village after all."

"Uchiha Itachi?" brown eyes turned to look at Itachi who couldn't help but see ten ways that he could kill the man. If he removed the Nara that number jumped to twenty-five. "First son of the Uchiha?" Itachi didn't respond and Shisui laughed, breaking the tension easily.

"I am genuinely honoured that he found time for me." Itachi glanced at Shisui who smirked, ignoring the implied threat.

"I understand that you are injured, but I am only accustomed to the samurai drills. Daimyo-sama will not let me watch the shinobi at play. Will you fight for me?" Itachi felt cold rage settle in his stomach and Shisui deftly drew all attention away from him once more.

"Unfortunately, your grace, my knee is aching. It wouldn't be much of an exhibition match, but I'm given to understand that Hinata-sama is similarly skilled." Itachi glanced at Hinata who was cheerfully promising Shisui a painful death if the moves of her fan were being correctly interpreted. The Daimyo's son raised an eyebrow in disbelief, studying Hinata, taking in her build and the soft hands of a diplomat with the marks of one who studied calligraphy, not the martial arts. At her side the Nara almost flinched when Hinata's gaze hardened. Shisui grinned and came to stand beside the young man as Hinata's maid immediately closed the parasol with a snap, removed the ornate outer layers of her lady's kimono with ease before Hinata came to stand before Itachi in something reminiscent of a training kimono, plain grey, hidden slits allowing her to move with ease. Still Itachi nearly laughed. Training kimono were almost never worn by kunoichi, they were useful for training for those missions where full kimono had to be worn, but beyond that, they were useless. However his laughter stilled in his throat when she calmly entered her stance.

He knew that she had been trained extensively by Neji but he only now recognised the stance she took after their initial bow. Shikamaru almost flinched when Hinata tore through Itachi's defence to hit his arm and Itachi back flipped, silently cursing his lack of focus as he ran a gentle raiton through his arms to combat the jyuuken she had employed.

It was an exhibition match, they were moving slowly, allowing the civilian the opportunity to see what they were doing. But they didn't hold back either. Itachi slipped through her defence, twisting her arm away from his body, stepping into her stance and breaking her momentum. He could see the flash of frustration in her eyes at how easily he had broken her stance and as one they stepped back, hearing clapping. "Amazing. And that was just hand-to-hand! I understand why shinobi are held in such high regard now."

"Hinata-dono is extremely talented, in a real battle, she would have destroyed me."

"Itachi-dono is being nice," Hinata stepped towards her maid, slipping back into formal wear.

"And yet, you didn't even break a sweat," her charge exclaimed and grinned at her as Shisui came to stand beside Itachi.

"Thank you, shall we continue with our tour?"

As they left Shisui looked at Itachi. "Destroy you huh?" Itachi sighed, resigning himself to Shisui's teasing for the rest of the afternoon, never quite forgetting that her palm once rested over his dantien. If she had had chakra in her fingers, it would have destroyed his chakra system. She was more dangerous than she appeared. Hinata was the epitome of a kunoichi: she appeared as delicate as a flower before a wind storm, but she would destroy you without you ever knowing that she was there. She glanced at him over her shoulder, and there was a faint smile on her lips. Itachi turned to Shisui and calmly informed him that he was going to find food and began walking off. Yes. Hinata could have destroyed him. He wasn't going to underestimate her again.


	3. Autumns Grace

Autumns Grace

\- Autumns Grace -  
by Nelarun

Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi

* * *

He saw her standing on a bridge without guard or maid and approached. "Finished with your duties then?" She didn't turn to him, but painted lips lifted into a smile.

"For now. Daimyo-sama has returned to his castle and we are once again left without guests in our home." She turned to him and he saw that the smile didn't reach her eyes. They were old rivals, both trained to be lethal killers, wary of their distant cousins, the flames of hatred tempered only by the ties of the village. She was definitely wary of him and she had every right to be. It was no secret that Itachi was an ANBU captain and Hinata was not. He bowed and began to walk off. "Are you also finished with your duties?"

"I'm still not allowed to be rostered on," his grimace told her what he thought of the medics and she hid a laugh behind her sleeve. He was still having difficulties believing that this painted doll had landed several hits in their spar the other day. Neji may have had a hand in her combat training but her primary focus was the diplomatic corps.

"Walk with me?"

"Hmm"

"I was headed for Autumns Grace when the beauty of the stream caught my attention. I find I am loathe to drink tea alone today and thought that if I waited here, I would offer my company to the first person to pass." He studied her, suspicions flaring to life before he smiled at her and turned towards the tea house, the two falling into step. How had she known that the Grace was his favourite tea house? Certainly he had never spoken of it to anyone and usually went under a henge to avoid being mobbed by comrades and fans.

So it was something of a surprise when Hinata was greeted so warmly by the proprietor and was swiftly shown to a table with a pleasant view of the forest surrounding Konoha. "Hinata-sama, will it be your usual?" Hinata eyed Itachi who offered her a friendly smile in return. He almost laughed at the way her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she turned away from him.

"No thank you, Hobe-san. Imperial Spice for two please, and a plate of sweets." Itachi kept the surprise from his face but Hinata looked almost smug.

"How did you know?"

"Hmm?" She was mocking him.

"My favourite tea here."

"When I was asked if I would have my usual, your gaze flicked for a brief moment to Imperial Spice. I generally prefer either lung cheng or wu long." She suddenly reached across the table. "You know I once had to pose as a fortune teller?" a flash of sudden happiness. "Were I to retire from heirship, I think I would work for Jiraiya-sama as a fortune teller. The blood of seers runs through my veins, so making accurate fortunes shouldn't be too hard, and as covers go, it's not a bad one."

"Have you ever made an accurate prophecy?"

"Once," she said. "When I was a child, I had the same vision for days on end. On the night in question, chichiue created a shadow clone who henged himself as me. My clone was kidnapped while I slept safely beside my mother," she looked at Itachi and he placed his palm on her waiting hand. Her fingers traced the lines and scars and let him go. "Fortunes also run through your family, do they not?"

"Not as strongly as they do by those blessed by the moon." There was a genuine smile on her face that vanished when the proprietor set the tea and sweets down.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Nori-onigiri and tea smoked duck," the gods knew that Neji had lamented about never being able to find enough tea smoked duck to suit Hinata's tastes.

Hinata scoffed. "Good guess," and he ruthlessly smothered a laugh as she began to pour the tea in beautiful, careful and measured movements. Itachi's breath caught in his throat as he watched her.

She was in a sunbeam and she __glowed__.


End file.
